USA and Canada

AT&T has indicated for the first time that its proposed merger with T-Mobile USA may not go ahead.

Dallas, Texas-based AT&T and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom have announced the withdrawal of their merger application from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), following an announcement this week by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that he was moving to block the deal.

Such a move would create a major obstacle to the merger in the near term.

Statoil Canada has announced it is investing $1 million into research expertise in reservoir engineering.

The investment is to be matched by the Research & Development Corporation (RDC), and will create the Statoil Chair and Statoil Associate Chair in Reservoir Engineering at Memorial University, Newfoundland, fostering the development of a new Petroleum Engineering research program in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

Statoil Canada and RDC will each contribute a total of $1 million over the next five years.

The UK’s Weir Group has agreed to acquire US-based Seaboard Holdings for $675 million (£431 million).

Based in Houston, Texas, Seaboard manufactures engineered wellhead and pressure control equipment for the oil & natural gas exploration and production industries. The company also provides a range of field and support services, including equipment rental for the onshore oil & gas drilling, completion and production markets.

TRW Automotive has announced it is to open a new facility in the state of Queretaro, Mexico, to produce a range of advanced brake systems.

The 150,000 square foot plant will manufacture hydraulic control units for a variety of electronic stability control systems, as well as brake actuation units including boosters and master cylinders.

Production at the new plant is expected to begin near the end of the first quarter in 2012, with an estimated total employment of 450 when full production is reached.

Vancouver-based Silvercorp has acquired China’s SX Gold Mining Company for US$22.75 million, it has been announced.

The company has made the purchase through its 77.5 percent owned subsidiary Henan Found Mining Co. A payment of $19.6 million has already been made, with the balance due upon completion of the share transaction and the transfer of the mining and exploration permits. 

Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has agreed to acquire Australia-based iNova, a private pharmaceutical group.

iNova owns, develops and markets a portfolio of prescription and OTC pharmaceutical products in the Asia-Pacific region and South Africa, including therapeutic weight management brands such as Duromine and OTC brands in the cold and cough market such as Difflam and Duro Tuss.

Boeing has secured its biggest ever commercial aircraft deal with a 230-plane, $21.7 billion order from Indonesia’s Lion Air.

The airline is ordering 201 737 MAXs and 29 Next-Generation 737-900 ERs (extended range), with the deal also inclusive of purchase rights for an additional 150 airplanes, valued at more than $14 billion if exercised at list prices.

Bombardier Aerospace has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Morocco for the establishment of a manufacturing facility in the North African country.

Bombardier Aerospace intends to invest approximately $200 million in equipment, buildings and start-up costs over the next eight years.

Smith Electric Vehicles Corp, a manufacturer of all-electric commercial vehicles, is expanding its US operations by adding a manufacturing facility in New York State, creating up to 100 new direct local jobs.

A package of city and state incentives of approximately $11 million will augment Smith's private investment.

Boeing has announced an order from the Dubai-based Emirates Airline for 50 Boeing 777-300ERs (extended range) plus options for an additional 20 of the popular twin-aisle commercial jetliner.

Valued at $18 billion, this is the single largest commercial airplane order by dollar value in Boeing's history. It also makes 2011 the best-selling year for the 777 program, surpassing the previous record of 154 orders set in 2005.